It was back in mid-2011 when we last spoke about another installment of I Am Legend, and at that time director Francis Lawrence was pretty certain a prequel wasn’t happening. It seems he was right, but that doesn’t mean Warner Bros. has given up completely on the title.

According to Deadline, Warner Bros. has closed deals with Akiva Goldsman and Overbrook Entertainment to do another installment of 2007 hit I Am Legend (review here) with the intention of Will Smith reprising his role as scientist Robert Neville, who was the last man on earth doing battle with a mutated mob in New York City after an apocalyptic man-made virus wiped out the population. Arash Amel will write the script.

Not here’s where things get tricky: The film is not being called a prequel so how can they get past Smith’s character’s demise at the first film’s end? Smith won’t commit until the script is ready, and there’s no word on where Francis Lawrence, director of the original flick based on the novel by Richard Matheson, stands on the whole thing.